AUDIO REVIEW: Luke by Con Riley (Learning to Love #3)

LUKE

Learning to Love - Book Three

by Con Riley

Release Date: February 24, 2022

Audio Release Date: March 7, 2023

Review

Luke is absolutely the most incredible character to ever character. I adore him. His story is incredible. The writing is incredible. I want to live in his story forever.

One should also note that narrator Cornell Collins is perfection. Cornell as Luke…a dream come true!

*Original Review*

Luke is the headmaster of a struggling school. He’s been fighting tooth and nail to keep it going, to give his students a place that truly cares about giving them the best start in life, not just in test scores. For a place where his teachers can do what they do best and have a home too, a place to belong. He’s fighting for everyone. What he’s missing is for Nathan, the man he’s loved his entire adult life, to fight for him. He’s carrying everyone’s weight on his shoulders, but what he needs is someone, his someone, to stand with him.

‘He ordered his soft heart to harden on the way up to his study. Stood by the mirror once the door closed behind him, telling his insides to match his outside for once - stern instead of squishy’

The story that ensues is a masterclass in storytelling. The characters are vibrant and layered. Though told from the single POV of Luke, you feel just as connected to Nathan. The story is both heart-shattering and heartwarming all at the same time. It tears you apart from the very start, only to put you back together again, feeling stronger in the end.

It tells the story, not just of love and romance, but that of forgiveness and healing, of finding strength in your worst moments. Of learning to lay down your hurts. Of trusting love.

‘“I didn’t run back to a place.” Nathan covered Luke’s hand over his key. “I ran back to my person”.’

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Synopsis

Luke Lawson is committed to one thing—saving his boarding school before a cash crisis sinks it. He’ll do anything to keep it afloat while vulnerable children rely on him, even if that means accepting help from the man who let him down at uni.

Nathan’s offer to teach for free could be a blessing as long as Luke can guard his soft heart. That’s tough when they’ll need to share living quarters and have a history of hook-ups. But Luke knows being compatible in bed isn’t enough to build trust. It can’t be when Nathan has always left him before morning.

This time around, it feels different. Nathan's work overseas has changed him, touched him, opened a locked chamber in his heart that Luke is beginning to think must have been bruised in the past too.

As pressure mounts to keep the school open, can Luke trust that Nathan’s committed this time—not only to the school but to a shared future with him long term?

♥ Featuring a second chance at first love in close proximity, Luke is the third standalone novel in the Learning to Love series. Set in England's glorious county of Cornwall, each book has a fulfilling happily ever after. ♥

CW: Non-explicit mention of past abusive relationships and anxiety

About Con Riley

CON RILEY lives on the wild and rugged Devonshire coast, with her head in the clouds and her feet in the Atlantic Ocean. Injury curtailed her enjoyment of outdoor pursuits, so writing fiction now fills her free time instead. Love, loss, and redemption shape her romance stories, and her characters are flawed in ways that make them live and breathe. When not people-watching or wrangling her own boy band of teen sons, she spends time staring at the sea from her kitchen window. If you see her, don’t disturb her—she’s probably thinking up new plots.

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